Media Composer 8.7 Now Available — Introducing New Features to Accelerate Creative Storytelling

The holiday season is upon us, and the Avid team has prepared a shiny new version of Media Composer. This new update (8.7) is packed with great new features that will accelerate the way you tell your stories. Here’s a detailed overview of what’s new in Media Composer 8.7 — now available!

Match Framing to Titles and Matte Keys

With this release of the editing application, when editing a title or matte key into a sequence, the sequence will track the original clip used so that it can be match framed. This applies to newly edited Titles or Matte keys (Media Composer v8.7 or later).

New Safe Area and Safe Title Options

In the Grid Settings dialog, it is now possible to set the Safe Area/Title to RP-2046 (safe area 93%, safe title 90%) and EBU R95 (safe area 96.5%, safe title 95%) standards.

Extended Audio Punch-In

In Media Composer 8.7 you can extend Audio Punch-In beyond the end of the sequence or the Mark Out.

Controlling the Track Shown in Split View

A new setting to the Composer Settings window in the Multicam tab allows you to control which track is shown in the split view when you press Play. You can choose between V1 or the monitored track.

Audio Default Pan Update

This update provides two new menu items in the Clip mode of the Audio Mixer tool that allow you to commit and remove pan effects whose values are the same as the default for their respective tracks.

Rotation Presets in FrameFlex

The Source Settings FrameFlex tab includes rotate left and rotate right buttons to help you when adjusting the Framing parameters when you are setting new dimensions of the framing box.

Clip Info Shortcut

The Clip Info shortcut Alt+Ctrl+I has been added to the editing application. Select the clip or multiple clips and press Alt+Ctrl+I. The clip(s) information appears in the Console window. This is helpful if you want to copy a text version of the clip information.

Set Default Bin View

The new Set Default Bin View option in the Bin Settings window allows you to set a default bin view when creating a new bin.

Close All Bins But Active

A new option has been added to the Windows menu. When you select Close All Bins But Active, all open bins will be closed except the bin that currently has focus.

Skip Prompt to Save Locked Bins on Auto-Save

The new option “Skip prompts to save locked bins on Auto-Save” in Bin Settings window allows you to disable the prompts that appear when saving locked bins during Auto-save. You will receive the following warning if you choose “Skip prompts to save locked bins on Auto-
Save.”

Hybrid Log Gamma Color Space

All references to AribB-67 have been changed to HybridLogGamma across the editing application. This change is seen in the color space selection, as well as color transformations in the Source Settings.

Timecode Burn-In Effect Local Frame Count

In a previous release, the editing application allowed you to set the starting frame count at 0 or 1. With this release, you can set the starting frame count at any value. This value will also be reflected in the Frame Count Start bin column entry.

List Tool Update

With Media Composer, you can now create a cut list or change list for multiple sequences.

Support for Sony XAVC-LongG Format

This release of the Avid editing application supports the Sony XAVC-Long GOP format. The formats listed below are available for media creation and linking. You must have the latest Sony Plugin installed to Link to XAVC-Long GOP. See http://www.avid.com/plugins/ama-plugins.

Media Composer 8.7 is now available for all customers who have a Subscription, Floating or Perpetual License with an active Upgrade and Support plan. As soon as you connect to the internet, your Avid Application Manager will notify you about the availability of this new version. If you don’t have an internet connection on your system, just download the latest version from your Avid Account or the Video Download Center.

Remember you’ll need an active Upgrade and Support plan to use the latest features in Media Composer 8.7, so be sure your Annual Upgrade Plan is current—renew your plan now in your Avid Account.

Get more details on these features, changes and improvements in the ReadMe and What’s New documents on our Media Composer Documentation page.

Avid ScriptSync and PhraseFind will be returning early 2017 to Media Composer! Get all the details about their come-back here, and get notified when they are available for purchase.

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